Alaska Adventure

Did you ever wonder what it would be like to explore our 49th state on a converted Greyhound bus with 22 complete strangers? It is - FANTASTIC!

Group: Green Tortoise
Adventure: 14 days doing the Alaska Loop


The Green Tortoise bus - a simple, no frills mode of transportation. Features include: platform bed in back (great for napping or playing cards on long drives), archaic speakers running throughout for quality acoustic music....and a beer cooler :)
We'll all be in this bus for 14-straight days, cooking, cleaning, and drinking together. Group bonding happens extremely quickly in an environment like this!














From our jumping off point in Anchorage, we make our first official stop at one of the many glaciers in Alaska - Matanuska Glacier. We camp just a half mile from the glacier, a bit chilly with wind coming right off the glacier, but completely gorgeous.

We wake up and head off to Valdez, known mostly for the horrific oil spill, but is also one of the towns hit by one of the most devastating U.S. earthquakes and resulting tsunami in 1964, destroying the whole old city. Valdez has subsequently been rebuilt several miles from it's original location.

During our time in Valdez, most Tortoise riders chose to take a full day boat trip out to several tidal glaciers in Prince William Sound. I opted for a slightly more interactive adventure: sea kayaking around Columbia Glacier. Being just inches from icebergs that have cleaved off the Columbia glacier is an incredible feeling.





Leaving Valdez, we head up to Denali National Park (in our slow moving bus this takes just under 2 days along the rugged gravel Denali Highway, but the extra time for the views is much appreciated. We arrive mid-morning to the park with the most crystal clear view of Denali mountain possible. Base to summit, not a cloud in sight!




We spend three days in Denali, hiking through the back country terrain (made slightly more challenging by the fact that there are no trails throughout the entire park). We spot caribou (close up), Dahl Sheep (pretty close), Moose (a little further away), and Grizzly Bear (far away).

























After Denali, we spend several days getting back down south to the Kenai Peninsula, and include stops at Talketna (jumping off point for Mt. McKinley summit attempts), Alyeska ski resort, and a gold mine. We finally make it to Homer, halibut capital of the world. We're camping right on the spit, which proves to be a little windy on several of the nights.




Being in the Halibut capital of the world, of COURSE I try my hand at fishing. While I don't come anywhere close to a 200 pounder, the 5 of us that went fishing bring back enough fish to feed camp for at least a couple of nights. We celebrate with a night out at the famous Salty Dog Bar located at the end of the Spit. Instead of leaving the typical signed dollar bill, we opt for a....sock!?

It's hard to believe that after Homer we're heading off to our last stop on this 2 week long adventure - to the small town of Hope. Some will strike off into the mountains for more hiking, another contingent will go for rafting the class IV and V rapids of Six Mile Creek.



What makes this rafting trip slightly more challenging than your average trip: the freezing cold, glacial fed water! But the rafting is incredible, with a guaranteed spot in the hot tub post paddle.

This is our last big adventure in Alaska, the day after we're back on the bus to Anchorage to catch various flights home (California, Germany, D.C....). I have to say, this was definitely one of the most entertaining vacations I have ever taken! And highly recommend Green Tortoise for anyone with an open mind, willingness to pitch in, and interest in meeting new fun travelers from around the world!